Verified against Ofcom Connected Nations Spring 2026, IASME Cyber Essentials April 2026 standard and current operator pricing.
Quick answer: Three different inbound call distribution patterns. Ring group = every phone rings at once. Hunt group = phones ring in sequence (1st, then 2nd, then 3rd). Call queue = callers wait in a virtual line with hold music until the next agent is free. UK hosted VoIP systems include ring and hunt groups in standard plans; queues are usually a Pro feature. Pricing, setup and side-by-side comparison below.
Side-by-side: which one for which job?
| Pattern | How it rings | Best for | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ring group (parallel) | All phones ring at the same time, first to pick up wins | Sales teams of 2–4, reception backup | Office becomes noisy; multiple people may pick up |
| Hunt group (sequential) | Phone 1 rings 15 sec, then Phone 2, then Phone 3… | Tiered support (junior → senior), area-specific reception | Caller waits longer; bottom of list rarely rings |
| Hunt group (round-robin) | Cycles through phones, starting with the next agent each call | Fair distribution for sales teams | Slightly more setup; needs hosted VoIP not basic SIP |
| Call queue | Callers wait in line; music + position announcement; longest-waiting agent answers | Support desks, claims teams, anywhere with >10 calls/hour | Needs Pro VoIP licence; abandon rate must be monitored |
How they actually work — the call flow
Caller dials your DDI
e.g. 0207 946 0000 — your sales line.
PBX routes by group
The hosted PBX sees the destination is a hunt group and starts ringing members.
Phone rings (or queue holds)
Members ring per the chosen pattern; queue plays hold music.
Connect or fall through
If nobody answers, fall through to voicemail, mobile, after-hours IVR or another group.
Setup steps on a hosted VoIP system
- 1 · 30 sec
Pick a strategy
In the admin portal, create a new “Hunt Group” or “Call Queue” and choose ringing strategy (parallel, sequential, round-robin, longest-idle).
- 2 · 1 min
Add members
Drag users into the group. Each user can be a desk extension, softphone, or external mobile number.
- 3 · 30 sec
Set ring time and overflow
Typical: 15 seconds per member, overflow to voicemail or another group after the last member fails to answer.
- 4 · 30 sec
Assign a DDI or extension
Point your inbound number (or internal extension) at the new group. Save.
- 5 · 1 min
Test from a mobile
Always test inbound from outside the office — that’s the real customer experience.
Need hunt groups for your team?
Hosted VoIP with hunt groups, call queues and 60+ features from £12/user. Free setup and number porting.
Or call us on 0333 015 2615
Call queue features worth paying for
What it costs in 2026
Hunt & ring groups
£0/group
Included with most UK hosted VoIP plans (hypercloud, RingCentral Standard, 8×8 X2).
- Unlimited members
- Parallel or sequential
- Voicemail overflow
- Hold music
- Wallboard reporting
Call queue (Pro)
£12/user/mo
Unlocks queue features — typical add-on for support and sales teams.
- Position & wait announcement
- Hold music
- Skill-based routing
- Live wallboard
- Call recording included
Contact-centre suite
£35/agent/mo
For 10+ agents, omnichannel queues (calls + chat + email + WhatsApp) with workforce management.
- Everything in Pro
- Omnichannel queues
- Predictive dialler
- WFM & QA scoring
- CRM bi-directional sync
Common mistakes
- Too many ring-group members — 5+ ringing phones is chaos. Use a queue instead.
- 15-second ring per hunt step means a 4-step group keeps callers waiting a minute. Trim to 10 seconds.
- No after-hours route — calls die after 9pm. Always set an out-of-hours destination.
- Voicemail as overflow on a sales line — high lead-loss rate. Forward to mobile instead.
- No reporting — without queue stats you can’t justify hiring or scheduling.
Need help designing call flow for a UK SMB?
We’ll map your inbound call patterns, recommend hunt-vs-queue, and migrate without losing a single call. Free 30-minute design session.
Hunt groups & queues — FAQs
Yes — a sales rep might be in the main sales hunt group, a VIP-customer queue and a generic reception backup ring group all at once. Most platforms let you set per-group priority too.
Set yourself “unavailable” in the desktop client — it removes you from active groups until you set yourself back. Or use the DND button on the desk phone.
Sort of — you can use a hunt group with overflow back to itself, but no music and no announcements. Real queueing needs the Pro plan on most UK hosted VoIP platforms.
Yes — Teams calls them “Call Queues” (a single concept that covers ring groups and queues). Setup is in Teams Admin → Voice → Call Queues. Microsoft 365 E5, Teams Phone Standard or a per-user Phone System licence is required.
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